Excellence in Research: Manufacturing of Sustainable and Environment-Friendly Bio-Binder from Algae for Epoxy-Based Composite Materials

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Epoxy resin is the most prevalent thermoset polymer matrix in the field of polymer composite materials due to its superior properties. It has also been used in versatile industrial applications such as adhesives, electronics, and coatings. Epoxy resin and its common hardeners (curing agents) are currently manufactured in a fossil fuel-based chemical process. In recent years, sustainable or "green" epoxy resin has emerged in scientific publications and in the composite market. However, there are limitations in current green epoxy technologies regarding mechanical performance, cost, and paired curing agent. This award supports development of an epoxy system and value-added composite products from a sustainable source: algae. The research has potential to remediate environmental concern in epoxy composite materials and impact significantly the epoxy-related industry, which is steadily growing these years with a projection of $38.2 billion global market in 2023. This research will enhance the competitiveness of North Carolina A&T State University, the largest public HBCU in the US, in the advanced material research sector. It will also strengthen and expand the education/training and research experiences of undergraduate and graduate students, especially underrepresented African American students, in green materials. The project will generate new information for K-12 level to promote STEM education and create public awareness about environment and sustainable systems. The overall objective of this research is to develop an economic, sustainable and environment-friendly bio-binder from algae through a thermochemical liquefaction process, then directly mix bio-binder with epoxy to completely replace conventional epoxy hardener and partially replace the epoxy resin. The collaborative research team will identify culture conditions of algae, reveal processing parameters of algae thermochemical liquefaction, and optimize manufacturing/curing conditions of the epoxy resin/bio-binder system. Particularly, the research will uncover the relationships among hydrothermal liquefaction parameters, contents of reactive functional groups in bio-binder, degree of cross-linking reaction in the curing process, and final mechanical properties of the cured products. The research will eventually generate a novel epoxy resin system for high-performance, sustainable, and economic epoxy-based nanocomposite materials. The research team will also perform molecular dynamic simulation to understand and predict mechanical properties of the epoxy resin/bio-binder system.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.